Round 3 of the Nedbank Golf Challenge produced 19 sub-par rounds and a field average score of 70.77. Jamie Donaldson leads on -16 with Thomas Björn and Ryan Moore following behind on -13. We analyse their performances and round up the Genworth Statistics leaders.

Jamie DONALDSON -16

Jamie Donaldson converted six birdies against a single bogey on his way to a third round 67, to lead by three going into Sunday. Looking at his Genworth Statistics, the 38 year old Welsh golfer is performing very well with the longer clubs, ranking 2nd for Driving Accuracy (with 27/42 fairways) and 5th for Greens in Regulation (with 40/54 greens), but most impressive of all are his rankings of 1st for Scrambles and all three Putting categories, dominating the thirty man field on and around the greens. That brilliance leads to the 2 time European Tour winner both accumulating more birdies and dropping the fewest shots of all the players in the field.

Tournament Stats

Result

Rank

Stroke Average

66.67

1

Driving Accuracy

64.3%

2

Driving Distance

287 yds

14

Greens in Reg

74.1%

5

Scrambles

85.7%

1

Sand Saves

-

-

Putts per GIR

1.600

1

Putts per Round

26.0

1

1 Putts per Rnd

10.00

1

Tournament Stats

Result

Rank

Par 3 Scoring

2.75

3

Par 4 Scoring

3.73

2

Par 5 Scoring

4.58

9

Eagles per Rnd

0.00

11

Birdies per Rnd

6.00

1

Pars per Rnd

11.33

-

Bogeys per Rnd

0.67

2

Others per Rnd

0.00

1

Par 5's in 2

2

10

Thomas BJÖRN -13

Thomas Björn converted one eagle and five birdies against a single bogey on his way to a third round 66. Looking at his Genworth Statistics, the 42 year old Great Dane has coincidentally hit exactly the same number of fairways and greens as the leader over the first three rounds, plus he has also managed 12/14 Scrambles as well. This exact match is so peculiar that we re-checked the numbers to make sure they were correct. Three putts is all that separates the 14 time European Tour winner from Donaldson as we move into Sunday's final round.

Tournament Stats

Result

Rank

Stroke Average

67.67

2

Driving Accuracy

64.3%

2

Driving Distance

308 yds

4

Greens in Reg

74.1%

5

Scrambles

85.7%

1

Sand Saves

-

-

Putts per GIR

1.650

3

Putts per Round

27.0

3

1 Putts per Rnd

8.33

5

Tournament Stats

Result

Rank

Par 3 Scoring

2.92

8

Par 4 Scoring

3.80

5

Par 5 Scoring

4.50

4

Eagles per Rnd

0.33

4

Birdies per Rnd

4.33

8

Pars per Rnd

12.67

-

Bogeys per Rnd

0.67

2

Others per Rnd

0.00

1

Par 5's in 2

1

17

Ryan MOORE -13

Ryan Moore converted five birdies on his way to a bogey free third round 67. Looking at his Genworth Statistics, the 31 year old golfer from the United States ranks 1st for Greens in Regulation (with 44/54 greens) and 5th for Putts per GIR (the combination of which suggests some accurate approach play) - plus he has Scrambled 8/10 times for Par when missing the greens and tops the Par 4 Scoring with a superb 3.70 average. As already a 2014 season winner in Kuala Lumpur on the PGA Tour just weeks ago, don’t be surprised if Ryan steals this one down the stretch come Sunday afternoon.

Tournament Stats

Result

Rank

Stroke Average

67.67

2

Driving Accuracy

59.5%

10

Driving Distance

299 yds

7

Greens in Reg

81.5%

1

Scrambles

80.0%

4

Sand Saves

-

-

Putts per GIR

1.659

5

Putts per Round

28.3

12

1 Putts per Rnd

8.33

5

Tournament Stats

Result

Rank

Par 3 Scoring

2.92

8

Par 4 Scoring

3.70

1

Par 5 Scoring

4.75

17

Eagles per Rnd

0.00

11

Birdies per Rnd

5.67

2

Pars per Rnd

11.00

-

Bogeys per Rnd

1.33

4

Others per Rnd

0.00

1

Par 5's in 2

0

22

Official Genworth Statistics Leaders

Stroke Average: 66.67Jamie DONALDSON.

Driving Accuracy: 73.8%Sergio GARCIA.

Driving Distance: 327 yardsSergio GARCIA.

Greens in Regulation: 81.5%Ryan MOORE.

Scrambles: 85.7%Henrik STENSON, Jamie DONALDSON, Thomas BJÖRN.

Sand Saves: -

Putts per GIR: 1.600Jamie DONALDSON.

Putts per Round: 26.0Jamie DONALDSON.

1 Putts: 30Jamie DONALDSON.

Other interesting statistics provided by the Genworth Stats Pack

Par 3 Scoring: 2.58D.A. POINTS.

Par 4 Scoring: 3.70Ryan MOORE.

Par 5 Scoring: 4.17Sergio GARCIA.

Most Par 5 holes where green is hit in two shots: 5Sergio GARCIA.

Most shots holed from off the green: 5Kevin STREELMAN.

Least number of drop shots during the tournament: 2 bogeysThomas BJÖRN, Jamie DONALDSON.

Most 3 Putts: 5Ernie ELS.

Most Eagles: 2D.A. POINTS, Charl SCHWARTZEL, Martin KAYMER.

Most Birdies: 18Jamie DONALDSON.

Most Pars: 40Luke DONALD.

Most Bogeys: 13Dawie VAN DER WALT, David LYNN.

Most Others: 5Peter SENIOR.

About the Genworth Stats Pack - Your feedback is important

Genworth and the European Tour present the Genworth Stats Pack, comprising of 5 reports per event (pre-event, after rounds 1, 2 and 3, and post-event). The reports will provide unique, interesting and useful information derived from expert analysis of the Genworth Statistics and several other sources, for example course information. The European Tour and Genworth truly hope this new tool will become essential in helping enhance the usability and understanding of the Genworth Statistics.